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Rusty Hardin

Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP
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Rusty Hardin
Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP
Houston,
 TX

Practice Areas

Cases Involving Public Figures, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Matters, Investigations, Personal Injury Claims

Education

J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 1975

Bachelor’s degree, Wesleyan University, 1965

Rusty Hardin is the founder and leader of Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP. A 1965 graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Rusty earned his law degree in 1975 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from Wesleyan and before law school, Rusty taught American history at Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, and spent five years in the U.S. Army, leaving with the rank of Captain after 15 months in Vietnam. He also spent a year as a legislative assistant to Congressman Charles R. Jonas, Republican of North Carolina.

Before entering private practice, Rusty established his reputation as an assistant district attorney in Houston for over 15 years. During that period, he never lost a felony jury trial, tried 14 death penalty cases, tried over 100 felony jury trials, and earned renown for his cross-examination skills in celebrated cases.

Before leaving the District Attorney’s office in 1990, Rusty was named Texas Prosecutor of the Year in 1989 and was featured in numerous news articles for his trial skills. In 1990, he founded Texas People Against Crime (TPAC), a statewide organization dedicated to addressing criminal justice issues from the perspective of crime victims and law enforcement.

Rusty entered private practice in 1991 as a founding partner of Hardin, Beers, Hagstette & Davidson, engaging in a civil and criminal trial practice at both the state and federal levels. In 1994, he was named Chief Trial Counsel for the Whitewater Independent Counsel’s Office, serving under both Bob Fiske and Ken Starr. In 1996, he established Rusty Hardin & Associates.

Rusty’s practice has been a diverse mix of approximately 85 percent civil trial work and 15 percent criminal trial work. Clients have been as varied as Arthur Andersen in both its civil and criminal cases; ExxonMobil; Rice University; The Venetian Hotel/Las Vegas Sands; the Houston Texans; various trusts and a corporation established by J. Howard Marshall II in a probate trial involving assaults on the J. Howard Marshall II estate by Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall III; Dow Jones in obtaining a new trial in the face of the largest libel verdict in history; and various professional athletes such as Rudy Tomjanovich, Warren Moon, Wade Boggs, Scottie Pippen, Steve Francis, Calvin Murphy, Rafer Alston, and Roger Clemens.

Since entering private practice in 1991, Rusty has tried over 70 jury trials, fairly evenly split between civil and criminal cases. Rusty enjoys nothing more than pleading cases before juries. “I love the challenge of trying to persuade a group of strangers to my point of view,” says Rusty. “From my years of experience on both sides of the courtroom, whether prosecuting or defending a client, I have found that juries almost always do the right thing. Even when I disagree, I can see how they got there.”

In 2015 Hardin was named a “Trial Ace” by Law360, given a Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement award, named a “Lion of the Texas Bar” by Texas Lawbook, and inducted into both the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Rusty is a nationally recognized speaker on trial tactics, which includes counseling lawyers on dealing with the media during high-profile cases. Hardin has three simple rules for media relations: “Always return their calls. Always tell them the truth. If you can’t talk to them, explain why.”

Rusty and wife Tissy were married in 1970. Rusty and Tissy have two sons, Russell and Thomas. Russell is a high school teacher in Houston, and Thomas is an officer in the Houston Police Department.

Honors

Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers

Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers

Named one of “The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America,” National Law Journal 2013

Recipient, Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists’s 2013 Lifetime Excellence in Advocacy Award

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

Supreme Court Advisory Committee 2009-Current

Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation

Named one of “The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter-Century,” Texas Lawyer, 2010

Named a “Trial Ace” by Law360, 2015

Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement award 2015

Chambers USA ranked among top Texas lawyers in both General Commercial Litigation and White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations

Best Lawyers, rated in Commercial and Criminal Defense: White Collar 2016-2020

Best Lawyers – Lawyer of the Year 2019 Houston area Criminal Defense: White Collar

Named a “Lion of the Texas Bar” by Texas Lawbook, 2015

Benchmark Litigation Star 2013-2020

Consistently named to the Texas Super Lawyers list since it began in 2003. Also named to the Top 100 Texas Lawyers in 2018, Top Ten Texas Super Lawyers list in 2003 – 2007, ranked second in the state 2005 – 2007 and third in 2004 by Thomson Reuters and published in Texas Monthly.

Lifetime Achievement Membership among America’s Top 100 Attorneys

“Attorney to Hire When You’re in Trouble,” Houston Chronicle, 2003

“Go-To Lawyer” for Commercial Litigation, Texas Lawyer, 2007

“Go-To Lawyer” for Civil Defense Litigation, Texas Lawyer, 2002

“Houston’s Top Lawyers,” H Texas Magazine, 2006

“Prosecutor of the Year,” State Bar of Texas, 1989

Founder, Texas People Against Crime

Yellowstone Academy Advisory Board

MADD Advisory Board


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